3 And 5, Wellington Road East

Nos. 3 and 5, Wellington Road East are wool textile offices and a warehouse, built around 1880 for James Howgate and Sons in the Italianate style. The building is constructed of ashlar with ashlar dressings and slate roofs, adorned with various ashlar stacks. It extends over four storeys plus a basement. Plain sash windows are present throughout.

The Wellington Road front, six days wide, features a round-headed doorway with double panel doors and fanlight to the right, and five round-headed windows to the left, all with moulded ashlar surrounds, impost bands, and bracket keystones. Above this, a moulded cornice is followed by six round-headed window surrounds, then six shoulder arched windows in moulded surrounds with keystones, and above that, six flat-headed windows in moulded surrounds. A bracketed cornice with ball finials tops the front.

A curved corner entrance front has five bays, with the central three bays projecting. Here, a deeply moulded round-headed doorway has a giant keystone, curved double panel doors, and a fanlight. This is flanked by single narrow round-headed windows, followed by larger similar windows. Above a bracketed cornice is a Venetian window with three round lights, the central one topped by a pediment. Single round-headed windows with laurel wreath carvings are positioned on either side. Above are a large central segment-headed window flanked by single round-headed windows with linked moulded surrounds, and further windows on either side. The front culminates in a segmental pediment inscribed “JAMES HOWGATE & SONS.”

The Branch Road front has nine bays with identical fenestration to the Wellington Road front, plus deeply rusticated basement. The warehouse front to Croft Road is six bays wide and four storeys high, also with a basement, and is constructed of rock-faced ashlar. A large round-headed east entrance with double gates and a rusticated surround is to the right. To the left are two round-headed windows with linked moulded surrounds, a taking-in door, and a single round-headed window and door with linked moulded surrounds. The upper three floors have a repeating arrangement of a pair of windows, a taking-in door, a pair of windows, and a single window. The first floor has round-headed windows with moulded surrounds, the second floor has segment-headed windows, and the top floor has flat-headed windows.